What indies would these be Russell ?

Just saying because if you've got major label distro you're more like an imprint than an indie.

What's your take on it ?

I re-opened the thread to answer this.

An independent company is an independent company, no matter who it does a…

So what indies would these be Russell ? I been out of the loop for ages but wouldn' t mind knowing whos who and whos making plays.

and what's your take on this ?

if you've got major label distro you're…

And Russell bangin on about being bored while avoiding the finer points of some decent arguments and chiding us like errant children squatting in his sandpit.

Robbie, fuck off. Really.

I've spent my weekend trying to do my bit for a serious and useful discussion about a system I think…

Put the music grant money exclusively into documentaries about New Zealannd music scenes

produce a New Zealand weekly multi act live gig show

More New Zealand break dancing shows

Make gear accessible to…

That lot and Brendan Smyth and his helpers. No wonder their music strategy is so messed up.

It was Glading who was Mike Bradshaw's immediate predecessor, and who hired Mike in the late 80s. He also signed Bic Runga. So he wouldn't seem to be entirely clueless. And neither, I…

Hope you post back what Brendan says bout my idea Russ,

Ever get the feeling you been used.

If not, I'll just stick to saying glad NZ's answer to Dire Straits(FFD) didnt get much funding ....or did they?

Or would RS be any different?... he likes to think he would…

I'm filing it under 'discussions that need to be had with this list of people not in the room'.

Well if you haven't got anything to contribute and you're gonna get smarmy about it, then just run along eh ?...there's a good lad.

So lets just re-cap shall we...

Apart…

If they were serious about reflecting New Zealand's identity, they'd randomly allocate the grants.

or consult with people who had a concept of it.

This is the present board of Nz on Air, not specifically the music division.

The NZ on Air Board

Neil Walter CNZM – Chair
Appointed in…

I'm filing it under 'discussions that need to be had with this list of people not in the room'.

Tell me about it.

If they fund broadcast content that doesn't get broadcast, or is seen or heard by almost no one

Could be the "broad" in broad-casting that's the issue?

And that distinction between a development role and a distribution one, if I'm reading this correctly. Maybe some funding responsibility needs to be…

Herc/Xena is a great example. While the marvellous Ngila is the shining star of that show's alumni, the flow-on boost to industry skill levels in general was immeasurable.

Notably many of the stunt performers, who made up much of the LOTR crew.

This is actually getting boring.

I've read it…

Totally agree – and have been doing so for many pages. And I agree that the direction in the Act about considering "audience" does not force NZ on Air to go for the biggest one or the blandest – but there are other pressures at play there.

It's a bit…

And what happened to that last version of your post? Bit confused for a moment there.

Time to level the playing field then by introducing some kind of handicap scale to nobble the exceptionally talented.

Outa-Tune?

It could be argued that there is a case to be made that the people who don't get any support could be competing with those who do.

Time to level the playing field then by introducing some kind of handicap scale to nobble the exceptionally talented.

It could be argued that there is a case to be made that the people who don't get any support could be competing with those who do.

Likwise, Russell. Sorry, I haven't got time it takes to engage you fully on the points you raised on digital content. One thing I will say, though, is the Culture and Heritage briefing to Jonathan Coleman is a tad old (12 years)

Duh. My bad on the date, I fear.…

Brendan Smyth:…

By that logic,then, the government should give up on any form of industry development, and settle for being a cultural and economic client state.

If that development can bring reasonable economic returns into New Zealand rather than simply being a swill-go-round I don't see a reason to shy away from…

Worth every cent.

"Wilson, just an ear, but what an ear"

It is rumored that $15,000 of the recording costs went to capturing the right theremin take.

Worth every cent.

According to studio records and since verified by Jimmy Page himself, Led Zeppelin purchased 36 hours of studio time to record Led Zeppelin I (this includes mixing). Including artwork and studio time the album collectively cost Led Zeppelin 1750 pounds.

or

On the contrary to Led Zeppelin and The Beatles,…

What's with the NZ Government's dutch courage in believing they can compete in that arena?

By that logic,then, the government should give up on any form of industry development, and settle for being a cultural and economic client state.

This is actually getting boring.

None of which was funded by the US Government. I'm not sure why you began that sentence with a contrasting subordinating conjuction when you're providing additional information to support the case that very little money is sufficent to get the attention of major players. In this case DGC.

Nirvana were…

But Bleach had only sold 30,000 copies before it got to piggbyback on the success of a much more expensively recorded-in-Hollywood-for-a-major-label follow up ($65K in 1991 money). A follow-up that took off because of MTV's high rotate of a well-made video ...

None of which was funded by the US…

I thought I'd gone on at some length.

ah, I just found you wrote the post in the spot where you said you were cooking the curry. Thanks Russell, not a bad answer. Sorry for any misunderstandings there. Certainly the developments you mention would have been untenable without NZOA. But…

why does the Government need to pay to make more?

Why is the ministry of Culture and Heritage involved so heavily in the Radio Hits game?

I'm mystified as to what you mean by "already available online", but whatever.

If i want to see or hear New Zealand content, there are 1000s on youtube, why does the Government need to pay to make more?

If it meant they had less time and fewer resources, it hardly seems a stretch to suppose so.

What do you think?

I think money doesn't really come into it unless your Def Leppard

Bleach

Bleach has sold north of 1.7 million copies — quite an accomplishment for an album…

Correct me if i'm mistaken but 2 self funded albums ?... international critical acclaim, a shit load of 12" vinyl ?

another one of those, gotta make it overseas before you get a look in here…

Are you saying they would have made worse records without the handouts?

If it meant they had less time and fewer resources, it hardly seems a stretch to suppose so.

What do you think?

Sorry, a continuation of my questions before Russell, I'm still waiting for definitive answer as to…

Without the handout and having to rely on your own talent might mean you'd produce a better quality work without having to compromise to commercial interests to satisfy the funding benefactor

To me, it seems clear you are talking about someone compromising their existing sound because of…

Conchord Dawn commercial? Don't make me laugh

commercial drum n bass as opposed to some really out there shit like Tays hakaider and audio slut incarnations.

http://www.myspace.com/theaudioslut

He was/is an an underground legend, a true pioneer and inspiration to countless foreign acts. concord dawn were cloned poo.

Are you really saying the artists I listed earlier would have made better records with no support whatsoever?

Are you saying they would have made worse records without the handouts? Sorry, a continuation of my questions before Russell, I'm still waiting for definitive answer as to why we need to…

there were some huge and important successes for NZ music in the decade after 1995. I think Mike's wrong about that.

I didn't read Bradshaw's comments to mean that NZ music became shit in 98, more he's saying there's a fundamental shift in how NZ on Air addressed its primary…

Nesian Mystik's album was released in 2002 and went on to 4X platinum. Bic Runga's Beautiful Collision came out the same year and went 11x platinum.

Scribe's first was in 2003 — 5x platinum and massive cultural cut-through. Through this period, NZ music in general had a growing share of…

compromise to commercial interests

Conchord Dawn commercial? Don't make me laugh

he seems to be well up on the actual govt docs

Oh cmon, just read the parts of the Act linked here

Brendan Smyth himself has said the act is the mandate

Honestly, I kinda doubt that many of the artists would agree.

They're hardly likely to say otherwise…

As noted in Mike Bradshaw's interview, NZ on Air's style in music funding has over its course changed. He puts it at the 5 year mark (98?). Make of that what you will.

As I've noted above, there were some huge and important successes for NZ music in the decade…

he seems to be well up on the actual govt docs

Oh cmon, just read the parts of the Act linked here

that would be the Chris Matthews who said in 2009

The very same, but if you read Vicki's article she mentions people have been scared to speak their mind on matters NZ on Air for some time, so it doesn't surprise that the man might be sucking it in in…

Nesian Mystik's album was released in 2002 and went on to 4X platinum. Bic Runga's Beautiful Collision came out the same year and went 11x platinum.

Scribe's first was in 2003 — 5x…

No, honest, there wasn't. What experience the indie sector had came largely from the live music scene

oh right i wasnt talking about the indie sector i was talking about the expertise and infrastructure of the major labels the personell of which always knew the importance of publishing and copyright…

Wrong

Thrash that one out with DD, You're contraditing each other but he seems to be well up on the actual govt docs.....

Understood, I took it to mean that NZOA helped Jackson get established. My wrong.

Ah. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

There was probably an equal or more amount of expertise within the existing infrastructure back then.

No, honest, there wasn't. What experience the indie sector had came largely from the live music scene — the likes of Doug Hood. People like Simon Grigg changed things a lot, but there weren't…

Herc/Xena is a great example. While the marvellous Ngila is the shining star of that show's alumni, the flow-on boost to industry skill levels in general was immeasurable. Judicious assistance to industrial entertainment can be a…

The release of Braindead in 1992 established Jackson as a mainstream director. Many who worked on that film had stuck with Jackson since Feebles. It seems a bit of a stretch to accord any credit to NZOA.

No, Jackson's core collaborators didn't work on Shortland Street, and that wasn't what…

The Broadcasting Act does not provide any mandate for NZ on Air.

Wrong

Peter Jackson was able to count on a local skill base for his movies because NZ On Air allowed so many people to learn their craft on Shortland Street.

NZOA was established in 1989, when Jackson released Meet the Feebles, his fallback project after the initial collapse of funding for…

Sorry if I'm missing something, but if you want your video played on TV, shouldn't you send it to a TV channel or something?

From what I read on that comment the video was won as part of a prize in a band competition.
You'd have to ask both parties…

I'm not sure it's understandable at all.

understandable in that its got reasonably intelligent men talking about nz on airs mandate when

The Broadcasting Act does not provide any mandate for NZ on Air.

Understandable in that some very experienced people involved in all levels of music in NZ are…

We've seen the same thing in the screen industry — Peter Jackson was able to count on a local skill base for his movies because NZ On Air allowed so many people to learn their craft on Shortland Street.

Probably true, although Shortland didn't get going until the early 90s,…

that would be the Chris Matthews who said in 2009:

Um, gosh.

thinking about it further, and to be fair, Chris is only mentioning NZoA in his comment to Vicki, and his funding for RMO project may have come from Creative New Zealand, so I may be comparing
chalk and…

Sadly, I'm making a curry

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaGKxAgCguU&feature=related

I'm not interrogating you, if I were you'd be buzzing with electricity, but I can see where you'd get that from. Not wishing to curry undue favour, but I think you could take it as a underhanded compliment of sorts Russell, in that…

I still don't understand what your underlying motive is in championing the concept of funding schemes Russell. Some of the ideas you and others present on ways to fine tune the system are not bad, assuming these systems must stay. But why must they stay?

I don't have an "underlying…

and were obliged to move…

that would be the Chris Matthews who said in 2009:

Um, gosh.

So you have an government organisation with a primary function "to reflect and develop New Zealand identity and culture" which is not directly or formally responsible to anyone but itself on issues of what is worthy of being reflected and developed.

The step you left out is the [[http://www2.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/nzstories.nsf/0/d5ae8cfbbef47ac1cc256b1f0000def3?OpenDocument|Ministry of…

Another high profile voice of dissent from his facebook page linking to Vicki's article in support.
– Chris Matthews :

that would be the Chris Matthews who said in 2009:

Q: What is your opinion of funding avenues and support networks like the NZ Music Commission, NZ On Air, Creative…

Back to the old computer for me, I guess, you don't really need a grant to make a recording these days, but it'd be nice if they gave a bit of cash to some of the young 'uns down this way who could do with a…

Vicki is (understandably?) confused in some of her statements and right on the money in many others.

I'm not sure it's understandable at all. She's the paper's music correspondent, and she's writing regular attacks on public agencies without knowing what she's on about. I think that's poor.

In the earlier…

How about a pool of funds that could be a real random arts lottery (of smaller amounts)
– a second tier for those other than the usual suspects/applicants...
Could also be tied to other incubator projects like RockQuest and Play it Strange...
a kinda quo vadis, quid pro quo…

Chris Matthews : Yup, I've bitched to anyone who'll listen about the nepotistic, anti-South Island bias of N.Z. On Air before; even though I'm hardly a 'New Recording Artist', that's the only funding round…

The Broadcasting Act does not provide any mandate for NZ on Air.

Thanks DD. Good to see the actual material posted.

There seems to be so much confusion about what's going on, including from our panel of experts and no wonder. A mandate that is no mandate??

Now we can…

Be interesting to see the analysis of how audiences get their music these days, though I fear it might be skewed by agendas like so much of…

We need to know that $50000 spent on one single artist going the commercial route produces desired outcomes more efficiently and cost-effectively than $50000 spent on multiple artists broadcasting, marketing and distributing their music by other means.

I understand what you're saying, but what outcomes are these? NZOA is highly…

Would Dave Dobbyn's career have been more successful if he had government funding in the late 70's, early 80's?

To be fair, he had videos made for him by the state broadcaster. The NZOA grants replaced the rather haphazard system whereby BCNZ might or might not make you a video,…

There doesn't seem to be anything there preventing funding associated with distribution through non-commercial networks, but practices over time seem to have established interpretations about co-funding and balancing "reasonable" audience size against diversity. Those need to change, particularly to reflect the way creators, industry and audiences actually interact today.

The…

Whats happened is, to fit the format of commercial radio and to compete for funding, artists are forced to become local clones of imported culture to the extent that any sense of local identity and culture is lost.

In terms of what gets funded for broadcast, yeah. Clones of their…

NZ on Air publish their mission and values and note how they invest. Audience size does seem to be used as a proxy for impact or effectiveness.

Section 39 of the…

All new media has to be studied and, because NZ on Air goes…

Thanks for great article on NZ music. umm..a few years back 1995 we won a competion South Island battle of the bands in Dunedin, we won, it and the prize was $5,000 from NZ on Air to make a music video... which we did,…

It's well and truly time for new blood. If any organisation needs a shake-up and a good prodding by a group of bureacrats with calculators, NZ On Air is it.

I don't think that's really what she wants. At all. Because, especially under this government, the…

but that is changing the mandate

has anyone got a link to a copy of 'the mandate' so we can all see what you're talking about. I read the excerpts dd (dave dobbyn?) posted from the broadcasting act which seemed very contradictory to the actions of the organisation but is…

a stakeholder, ie a creator of cultural content

We're all stakeholders, not just those who create

it is about the music biz that spawns so many embittered "failures and rejects".....

I'd previously thought Jody Lloyd was the sole example,...

Jody Lloyd is or was a stakeholder, ie a creator of cultural content and as such…

If screen NZ took over selecting and funding music vids re-classified as soundtracks to short films i dont think there'd be the need to change NzoA's mandate.

I'm not trying to be patronising, but that is changing the mandate

Brendan would be out of the…

It does seem to be outside the mandate

So let's be grown-ups and change the mandate. Get the support needed for law and structural changes. It's not exactly rocket science, it's politics and other sectors do it all the time.

I like that idea

chur Sacha...and theres plenty more where that came from:)

Often times it seems to be a downhill battle once they lose the favour of the funding agencies...

...and at the other end, an established artist that has plateaued or is on the downhill slide can still…

downhill battle....? read-downward spiral/ uphill battle.

I'd welcome hearing more about which parts of the system could change, and leaving personalities out of it

Fair enough, but over the years, every suggestion and his dog has been bandied around, there's seldom anything distinctly new, and despite that perpetual sense that change is imminent, as music month…

Chris – I totally got the Medici patronising thang – good riposte – poor Russell has taken a beating today and grabbed the wrong end,

The beating, I fear, was a matter of me beating my head against the wall.

I was hopeful of a reasonable discussion and exploration of…

he just gets on does what he wants, (and usually very well!) whatever anyone else may think, with an impressive work ethic and social conscience, I'd put him up there as an aspirational model rather than a bleater

Yeah, he's a pioneering legend, it's a bit of tongue in cheek,…

video selection should go to screen NZ with music videos being treated more as soundtracks to short films

I like that idea

Q: What it is…

Heres the NZon Air video funding criteria.

http://www.kiwihits.co.nz/funding/details/video

**Objective

__To fund music videos for broadcast on music television shows…

spookily synchronous posting, Joe

Muskateers? Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles? John, Paul, George and Ringo? Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer? Leonard, Howard, Sheldon and Rajesh? Mount Rushmore.

the sole example

spookily synchronous posting, Joe

That is funny

Fair dos, it wasn't high class. and I'll get off your ass. I really had no intention of getting on your ass. It's certainly not personal. Despite my previous few posts, I'm pretty easy either way with NZOA, it's a little more transparent than the way things…

haha, russell? come on man, get the joke.

Oh, okay. Sorry. I get it now. That is funny. I didn't pick it up over the pounding noise in my head.

ya could say we are off our Med(ici)s...

Don't patronize me.

Grow a sense of humour.

ad infinitum

could be worse #copywrong

Sorry. Maybe I should stop focusing on us manifold failures and rejects and join in the celebration of the handful of successes.

Good on you. When the kind of invective in evidence here is of the same tone as hopelessly inadequate dads employ against the family court, you have to…

Why on earth not? The mandate is simply to put more New Zealand work on Air.

Which involves it being, y'know, broadcast.

why? These artists have found their niche in the market, they're making a living, why should the government start developing more artists to compete against them? Did they…

ya could say we are off our Med(ici)s...

Don't patronize me.

Alone, Pope Julius II pratonized some of the greatest decorative art in known history. Just one man. Sure he had helpers...

ya could say we are off our Med(ici)s...

latest work performed live in welli next month

Rhian Sheehan talked to Kim Hill this morning (streaming, 31 mins) about the show, the album and mainly music in general. Can't remember if the subject of funding came up – maybe somewhere towards the end?

But if you're looking at Rhian's non-commercial work, I don't think NZOA is the agency to deliver support for that. It just ain't. And maybe that's okay

Why on earth not? The mandate is simply to put more New Zealand work on Air. They've given grants to 100s of recipients…

You're onto a real winner with that line Russ though i think you do your best writing when wound up. I love seeing that fire coming through and exposing the soft underbelly :)

This is at the level of trolling and I'm not going to bother with it any more.…

accusations

but surely the problem is a lack of transparency?

(policy suggestion: greater transparency)

For fuck's sake, the Music Commission and the Music Managers Forum have put together a seminar programme in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, culminating with the summit on the 29th; RIANZ, NZ On Air et al are sponsoring the summit. It looks really useful.

yeah but look at what their…

Genuine change means persuading a whole lot of parties that you see more clearly than them how things could be better. That's hard work and it takes skills that frankly I don't have yet, but at least I'm committed to learning. I'm sure you can do better too.

And it's…

You still haven't advanced a single positive idea.

To be fair, there was using Amplifier to select recipients. Otherwise, I agree it's hard to see the shoulder for the chip.

Nothing short of scrapping the mandate and the entrenched cronies, starting from scratch with a clean slate

Robbie, even if you think so ill of everyone in the industry, consider that cutting off one head is not going to stop another popping up unless you tackle the roots.

Genuine change…

No, that was poorly phrased.

No... it wasnt a slip of the keyboard, what you're saying is that cronyism is endemic to the arts funding sector and now you're trying to back pedal. You're saying it's just a matter of how much one is willing to turn a blind eye…

"pure" creative funding agencies

so a complete lack of transparency is normal?

No, that was poorly phrased. What I meant was that an arts-oriented funding agency like Creative New Zealand is vulnerable to exactly the same accusations as Robbie's making about NZ On Air.

And even if there is cronyism, it certainly wouldn't be any more than you get (or is perceived) in "pure" creative funding agencies.

So that makes it alright ?

No. But you you were arguing for an culturally/creatively based system. I don't think it would fix what you think is…

What I think you're failing to acknowledge is the goodwill that nearly everyone involved has. If it was a simple as one or two villains, it would be a lot easier to sort out.

Nearly every one ? Most of nearly everyone will be the passionate and powerless ones at…

cronyism

"pure" creative funding agencies

so a complete lack of transparency is normal?

And even if there is cronyism, it certainly wouldn't be any more than you get (or is perceived) in "pure" creative funding agencies.

So that makes it alright ?

As long as everyone's doing it you're sweet with it cos that's how it's always been in the music industry and…

A lot of acts re-apply over and over. ....That does, I guess, swing the argument back around to the gatekeepers.

heh, not on from an environmentalist's perspective.

Oh, come on.

You've been accusing me of having nothing to say?

Ok, the one throwaway solution i have put forward is like you suggest, an 'amplifier' like server for applicants to upload, users to buy off, labels/agents to listen to demos to and broadcasters to program from, thus scrapping…

and every regulated period will produce the same quantity of worthy recipients.

You will find, behind the scenes, that songs that were rejected in one round are approved in the next for a variety of reasons. A lot of acts re-apply over and over.

Why it wasn't good last time…

I've got solutions but this isnt the place to air them cos i don't trust NZoA heads won't take them and use them to keep themselves in the mix.

Oh, come on.

You've been accusing me of having nothing to say?

of course i got off my arse and Brendan kicked it to the kerb in 2001 for saying 'fund what artists produce not change…

Now I know Russell, as an expert on these matters can probably do all that, so my question is, why aren't you Russell ? Why are you sitting this one out and commenting form the sidelines. ?

If you can help and don't, then at least help me understand why…

Presumably a review could consider that too. There's still a need for videos, they just have to be made for both TV and online.

Brendan Smyth declared a couple of years ago that it was expected that funded videos would also be viewed online.

This was, ironically, seen by some…

I agree, that's the way a rethink should go — but I've looked at this, and when so much online content is created and published privately and for free, it's not entirely straightforward as to what you'd fund and how you'd do it.

Presumably a review could consider that too.…

Tell me how the complex system works.
Quote the relevent parts of the broadcasting act.
Define the terms of reference and the mandate.
Explain the freedom…

You just seem to have to make someone the bad guy, don't you?

Seems it's easier than understanding how complex systems actually work

Right.

A broader remit for getting nz music on 'any sort of air' – waves, TV, online etc, with an emphasis on a broad range of music tastes would seem to help that.

I agree, that's the way a rethink should go — but I've looked at this, and when…

A broader remit for getting nz music on 'any sort of air' – waves, TV, online etc, with an emphasis on a broad range of music tastes would seem to help that.

With these stations, the audiences are there for the music but NZ on Air isn't bothering to help bands reach…

Mark works hard, organises, and does a good job for his artists and the indie sector in general.

I'm sure he does, but in 10 yrs IMNZ has been largely ineffectual in changing the funding/copyright status quo, while The Music Commission is basically a rort for junket trips to conferences…

I thought NZ on Air was funding Radio NZ to the tune of a couple of million dollars. I know I've picked up a couple of NZ artists that I love from catching Music 101 while driving my car.

It's quite a bit more than that. NZOA is [[http://nzonair.govt.nz/funding/fundingsearchpages/FundingSearchRadioNZ.aspx|Radio NZ's…

Really like the new issue of…

It seems you have a more romantic notion of politics than I do

and you have a more liberal notion of an employee than me :) but enough about BS. Heres another point raised worth noting.

The thing with funding is supposed to be, if you're good enough, you don't…

PAUL:

A list of NZ on Air-funded albums

How many of these albums received significant radio play? Most. How many of these…

No apology needed.

Did it anyway.

The problem with 'leaked' 'facts' is that the leaker stuffed up.

I was wrong though – the Real Groove graph actually puts the CD value at $70 per unit (based on 1,000 units)…

As stated in the Real Groove article....
Donald Reid and his '$60 per-CD tax-payer' album "In A Taxi Home".

Disclaimer: let me state for those that don't know me, I'm Andrew B. White. I've known Donald for several years and play bass…

I'm sure if he'd wanted he could have put the word to the board that the mandate needs re written, and a word to the minister he's accountable to as a…

Nah sorry i'm just not buying it

And look who's paying the price. Ever wondered if perhaps you're shouting outside the wrong door?

there is also a wealth of knowledge and experience there that I, as a New Zealand taxpayer, don't want to toss away. He knows his stuff

Oh for sure maybe pay him the odd consultancy fee if you need to know anything from back in the day but this is…

The principal is not allowed to spend money on whatever they feel like – and nor is the Board for that matter.

It seems a better understanding of advocacy and power might…

Focusing on Mr Smyth is like targetting your school principal about national standards rather than the Board that employs her or the Minister and government who make the rules.

Nah it's like targeting the school principal for despite having the resources still continually churns out morons into the workforce...none of…

I'm sure you said yourself he was a man for his time but that time has been.

I don't recall saying that but really, its got little to do with watching his back. After all these years I think he's tough and thick skinned enough to watch his own. Yes…

Respect where it's due but it's the classic, yeah i liked your old stuff…

The commercial networks are not the gatekeepers anymore

For NZ On Air funding? Yes, they are. Nothing gets funded without a screening commitment from a broadcaster.

– everybody is jumping over the gate if they can raise enough money to produce and distribute something, but not everyone can afford to…

Sure the manager can advocate to the higher-ups but they don't have enough power to make change happen on their own.…

I should note, its unfair to lay the blame for crap selections totally at the broadcasters/programmers door.

Never forget, they are only playing your record because they have to.

Also, and I need to say it again: I have to admit, as I've said before, that I'm really not at…

Oh, and Robbie, I've just found this blog post of mine in response to a question from you back in '06, and I've reposted it. Funny how little has changed, huh?

haha Simon, a most excellent response... it really is like groundhog day !

...and to think Brendan has known…

Agreed. More significantly, why should a small group of unaccountable people (commercial broadcasting programmers) get to decide what will be popular before it's even made? Bollocks to that.

Sounds a bit like the Top of the Pops mentality of 1977:

When you see the kind of bands that were doing the…

I don't buy all the slagging off of NZOA for helping fund mainstream pop

Too much of that and not enough of anything else might be what's challenged.

Pop is by definition what's popular, and part of NZOA's remit is about promoting belonging and national voice and getting biggest impact…

but here's a riff that sounds very much like The Phoenix Foundation's Buffalo.

And I can point you in the direction of a '77 keyboard line from The Subway Sect that sounds very much like The Clean's seminal '81 Tally Ho, but it's not what your influences are, or even…

Oh,…

Why is there still a NZ on Air focus on commercial radio and TV? It's outdated.

To me that's the bit that needs to change. I don't buy all the slagging off of NZOA for helping fund mainstream pop, because it's our mainstream pop and as worthy of support as…

That role shifting to audiences rather than traditional middlemen is part of the impact of the internet on all culture industries and media. And the channels do not have the same…

I don't accept that argument. The point now is that there are so many alternative forms of broadcasting (eg…

I defy you to point out a band that sounds like The Phoenix Foundation from anywhere else.

Fair call maybe – but here's a riff that sounds very much like The Phoenix Foundation's Buffalo. "Hank Marvin" by the Exploding Budgies – http://ht.ly/1HyQT

How many people does one need for a lobby group ?

One, if you plan on lobbying via the New Zealand Herald.

You and I both know Robbie, that your time would be better spent plotting the next big thing. They have…

eg having their own Freeview channel- both to air content the commercial stations won't, and to ginger-up the commercials with some thoughtful competition.

...This I like, if every video gets played at least once, assuming it meets broadcasting standard requirements.

democracy ffs.

Even in TV, nothing gets funded without a broadcast commitment — no matter how authentic and great the idea is. The networks are essentially the gatekeepers of what can be made

Yeah.
And that's always been a problem. And it's past the point where the writing on the wall is…

Manufactured culture? Oppressively conditioned social responsibility? Successful precedents always outweigh the failures.

This overriding sense that cultural pantheons of days gone by can be reproduced with a bundle of…

Is there some amendment to the Act that makes it illegal not to blow millions on "radio friendly" pop music? Have I missed something?

Sorta. Even in TV, nothing gets funded without a broadcast commitment — no matter how authentic and great the idea is. The networks are essentially the…

How about doing the Ecan thing and sacking Brendan and his mates, then appointing outsiders with real world skills and proven ability to look at the whole shebang with fresh eyes and ears.

cos the thing is, theres 'the music commission' appointed panel of music experts 'outward…

Stop talking to/about Brendan Smyth. He is in a good position to approach the Board to make change, but he's obviously not up to it...

...time for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to produce a discussion document that can help inform the Board on the future of music funding.…